Earlier this month we had the chance to walk the vineyard and taste the fruit with Gina, our winemaker, and Simon, our vineyard manager. It’s such an exciting time of year – it’s the “big game” in winemaking – something
we anticipate all season long.
If you’ve kept up with news in the wine world – anywhere in the world – you’ve probably heard
that this year’s harvest is setting records for starting early. Parts of California, France, Spain and
many other countries have been picking for weeks, and their harvests will be over long before
their usual mid-to-late October finish. Only time will tell as to the quality of the wines, and
whether the grapes had enough time to develop the optimal balance of sugars and acids.
Fortunately for us, the Willamette Valley was largely spared the heat spikes, hail, drought and
other events that impacted California and Europe. Here in Yamhill-Carlton, we experienced
steady, consistent temperatures throughout the season, moderated by cool Pacific breezes. It
has been a very classic growing year for our vineyard, allowing the fruit valuable “hang time” on
the vine to develop deeper flavor profiles without rushing the harvest. The fruit is looking
exceptional! Natural acid levels have remained vibrant and high, which builds a fantastic
foundation for balance and aging potential. We are very excited about the overall quality of the
2026 vintage!
We’ll be harvesting Pinot Noir from the vines we first planted in the vineyard in 2022, as well as
more Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from our 2023 plantings. We’re also going to pick select
sections of Chardonnay from vines we planted in 2024. The beauty of having vines of different
ages to work with gives us layers of development and flavor profiles to blend into our McCollum
Family Vineyard wines.
Keep an eye on your email and our posts From the Vineyard to keep up with when we’ll be
releasing the 2026 vintage. In the meantime, visit our online shop to try our current releases, or
come out and see for yourself by booking a reservation to taste among the vines. If you’re not
already on our email list, sign up here.
Thanks for keeping up with us and our family winery. We can’t wait to share the 2026 vintage
with you!
Cheers,
CJ & Elise